Mapping the Legacy:
A Planned Giving Panel
Thursday, September 17, 2026 | 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
$20 for Young Professionals & Students
$30 for Members | $40 for Non-Members
Registration Closes September 16th at 5:00 p.m.
Space is Limited
The Center
LGBTQ+ Community Center
208 W 13th St, Room 310
New York, NY 10011
From first conversation to lasting legacy — three experts map out how planned gifts really come together.
Join Women In Development, New York for a panel discussion that traces that journey from start to finish, featuring a nonprofit planned giving officer, a financial planner, and an estate planning attorney — each playing a critical role along the way.
Together, they'll walk through how a planned gift takes shape: from the donor's first spark of intention, through the financial and legal planning that gives it structure, to the moment it becomes part of an organization's legacy. Attendees will leave with a 360-degree, holistic understanding of the planned giving process and the professionals who help bring it to life.
Featured Panelists
Katherine Pooser, Director of Planned Giving at the Cancer Research Institute and President of the Planned Giving Group of Greater New York (PPGGNY)
Katherine is a results-driven fundraising professional with nearly two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector. Her career demonstrates a consistent track record of providing strategic and visionary leadership across a diverse portfolio of organizations, including youth development, performing arts, health care, medical research, and civil rights. She is currently the Director of Planned Giving at the Cancer Research Institute and President of the Planned Giving Group of Greater New York (PPGGNY).
Katherine is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) and holds degrees in Economics (BS) and Public Administration (MPA). She is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer whose service was in West Africa. Committed to improving the nonprofit sector, she hosts Asking for Good, a podcast dedicated to launching and navigating nonprofit careers.
Ola Aladenika, CFP, Bridgewater Advisors
Ola graduated from The City College of New York in 2014 with a degree in Psychology. After college, he moved to New Hampshire to work with a non-profit ministry focused on community service. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the non-profit to shut down, Ola decided to pivot into a new field where he could continue making a difference: personal finance.
Ola started his career at Bridgewater Advisors, a fee-only wealth management firm. During his time there, he earned the CFP® designation. At Bridgewater, he’s had the chance to not only work closely with clients (individuals, families, and non-profit organizations), but also share his knowledge with the community, helping others improve their financial well-being. His passion for helping others remains a key motivator in both his professional and personal life.
Lisa Lager (Event Moderator), Planned Giving Consultant and Coach, Lisa Lager Consulting
Lisa Lager is the Principal of Lisa Lager Consulting, a nonprofit and philanthropy consultancy. She is a nationally recognized philanthropy and planned giving expert, consultant, speaker, trainer and coach with four decades of comprehensive fundraising experience and a history of building and growing high performing planned giving, legacy and endowment programs at some of the country’s largest nonprofits through current and after-lifetime giving. She raised nearly one billion dollars during her senior development roles at Weill Cornell Medicine, American Cancer Society, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Society and the Anti-Defamation League. She is a renowned leader in finalizing agreements for transformational 6-,7- and 8-figure blended and legacy gifts.
Lisa helps organizations secure their futures by diversifying and maximizing revenue streams and leveraging the power of planned giving. She provides consulting services, acts as a C-suite advisor, board educator, as well as staff leadership trainer, thought partner and presenter. Lisa also coaches, mentors, trains and empowers development professionals who want to thrive and advance in their careers.
A graduate of Cornell University, Lisa serves as a board member of Women In Development NY and co-chair of its President’s Council, a member of the AFP-NYC Mentorship Committee, and a member of the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater NY Philanthropy Committee. She lives in NYC and enjoys sailing, dancing and watercolor painting.
Laura J. Fischer, Esq., Founder and Principal, Fischer Harbage
Laura founded Fischer Harbage more than two decades ago with the belief that excellent estate planning requires more than sound legal documents. It requires understanding the people, relationships, responsibilities, and concerns behind them. She helps individuals and families protect what they have built, plan for incapacity and death, and make thoughtful decisions about the people and causes that matter most to them.
The firm handles matters ranging from foundational estate planning to sophisticated trust and tax planning, as well as probate and estate administration. Laura has intentionally built a team-based practice that allows clients to develop trusted relationships with multiple members of the firm and receive continuity of care over time.
Laura began her legal career as a patent attorney specializing in molecular biology and microbiology. That work required her to master technically complex subject matter and translate it into precise, practical legal solutions. Those skills remain central to her trusts and estates practice, particularly when advising clients with complex assets, business interests, intellectual property, or competing family considerations. She was drawn to estate planning by the opportunity to build more personal relationships with her clients and take a more holistic approach to legal counseling.
Laura studied Chinese medicine at Pacific College of Health and Science and received certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This broader perspective informs the way she counsels clients: estate planning is not simply a collection of legal documents, but an opportunity to care for the people we love, communicate our intentions, and ease future transitions.
Laura is admitted to practice law in New York and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association. She also studied mediation at the New York Peace Institute and trained in the Civil Court of the City of New York, experiences that inform her approach to family dynamics and conflict prevention.
Laura lives in Brooklyn with her two children.
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